Shaft's Big Score

Shaft's Big Score!
File:ShaftBigScore.png Original theatrical release poster by John Solie
Directed by	Gordon Parks
Produced by	Roger Lewis Ernest Tidyman
Written by	Ernest Tidyman
Based on	characters created by Ernest Tidyman
Starring	Richard Roundtree Moses Gunn Drew Bundini Brown Joseph Mascolo Julius Harris Joe Santos
Music by	Gordon Parks
Cinematography	Urs Furrer
Edited by	Harry Howard
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates	June 8, 1972 (1972-06-08)
Running time	104 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,978,000
Box office	$10,000,000

Shaft's Big Score! is a 1972 American Neo Noir action film starring Richard Roundtree as the private detective John Shaft. Directed by Gordon Parks, This is the second film in the trilogy. Ernest Tidyman once more supplied the screenplay. The first film's composer Isaac Hayes was unavailable, so Parks, the returning director, did the score himself. The film was produced on a budget of $1,978,000.

Plot

While New York is never at a loss for criminal activity, things take a turn for the worse when the corrupt co-owner of a funeral parlor and insurance agency kills his partner, a personal friend of John Shaft, only to discover that the money he was planning to steal to pay his gambling debts is missing. He makes a deal with the mobster he owes (Joseph Mascolo) to split the business but also makes the same deal with crime lord Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn). The bullets start flying when the hoods find they've been played against each other, and Shaft is forced to clean up the mess.

Cast

• Richard Roundtree as John Shaft
• Moses Gunn as Bumpy Jonas
• Drew Bundini Brown as Willy
• Joseph Mascolo as Gus Mascola
• Kathy Imrie as Rita
• Wally Taylor as Johnny Kelly
• Julius Harris as Capt. Bollin (as Julius W. Harris)
• Rosalind Miles as Arna Asby
• Joe Santos as Pascal

Reception

The movie received a lukewarm reception from critics, although Roger Ebert awarded the film 3 stars out of 4.

It earned estimated North American rentals of $4 million.

See also

• List of American films of 1972

External links

• Shaft's Big Score at IMDb
• Shaft's Big Score at AllMovie